{"id":12113,"date":"2019-07-29T18:01:19","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T09:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/?p=12113"},"modified":"2020-02-24T15:44:13","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T06:44:13","slug":"7-simple-steps-to-better-exam-answers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2019\/07\/29\/7-simple-steps-to-better-exam-answers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to answer an SAQ<\/br>7 Simple Steps<\/font>"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following 7 steps can be taken in order to create excellent short answer responses (SARs)* for Paper 1, Section A. Scroll down for a video explaining the same concept. For teachers, this also makes giving feedback\u00a0much\u00a0<\/em>easier.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You could write an excellent short answer response by following the following 7 simple steps.<\/p>\n

1. Restate the question<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is a great thing for students to get comfortable doing because in the essays they can get 1 mark just by doing this properly. This is why I like SARs and essays to begin the same way. One sentence, maybe two.<\/p>\n

2. State the study (or studies) that will be used in the answer<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Steps 1 and 2 are in the introduction. We can also teach these as transferable writing skills because they’re simply doing what any good introduction does – telling the reader what to expect (i.e. providing context for the answer). One sentence, maybe two.<\/p>\n

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Read More:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • Top 5 Mistakes in SARs and How to Avoid Them (Link<\/a>)<\/li>\n
  • Example Short Answer Responses – Downloadables (Link<\/a>)<\/li>\n
  • What is the difference between “Outline” and “Describe” (Link<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    3. Define the key term (or terms) in the topic<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Some people recommend doing this to begin the answer, and that’s fine, but personally I rather this being the first sentence or two of the central argument. One reason is because I like students to begin an SAR by restating the question and their essays the same way. The other reason is because I think it makes for a pretty good opening to a central argument and shows good knowledge. One sentence, maybe two.<\/p>\n

    In this post<\/a> I include some advice on what key terms to define and which to avoid.<\/p>\n